Fort | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

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Notes / Commercial Description:
An ale brewed with a ridiculous amount of pureed raspberries (over a ton of 'em!). Fort has a Belgian-style base, then we follow a similar fermentation process to the one we use on our other super-high ABV beers, 120 Minute IPA and World Wide Stout.

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a slightly cloudy dark orange amber with a thin off-white head that dissipates in to a ring around the glass with a hint of lacing. Aroma dominated by raspberries, slightly sour. Intense lavor of sweet raspberry juice with a hint of sweet malt and alcohol. The flavor is pleasant and interesting at first, but develops a medicinal quality and then the alcohol hits with a very hot finish. Light to medium bodied. I found the sweetness to be appropriate, but the ABV made this difficult to drink except in small quantities, not a feature I enjoy for a beer. Glad I tried it, but may not devote enough time to finishing another big bottle of this. I would buy this again in a smaller bottle.

Poured into my DFH glass a very nice dark golden amber color, very nice carbonation, nice two-finger fizzy off-white head, which does leave some nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, lots of raspberries, spices, with some caramel. The taste is sweet, malty, big raspberry flavour, some spicyness, and caramel. Medium body, the alcohol is noticeable, but not overwhelming with a brew this high in ABV. Very drinkable, I like this one, glad to have a chance to finally try it.

M - It's hard to get a sense of mouthfeel, as that would entail taking a sip big enough to make a judgment. It seems medium-bodied, and relatively smooth, with only slight carbonation. One of the better features of this brew!

D - Drainpour city - even shared amongst six people the 750ml bottle is too much. Might work better as a mixer or as a shot. I was able to swallow, which elevates it above Triple Bock...

The more Dogfish Head beer I try, the less I like their brews. 90 Minute IPA is good, the rest of it is too boozy, spicy, yeasty, etc. I suppose it's good that they're pushing the limits of craft brewing, but I'm just not into this stuff.

A: poured a pinkish orange with yellow highlights that had absolutely no head and no lacing at all sticking to the glass. It looks like a colorful barrel aged beer.

S: very big booze aroma smacked my nostrils at first whiff with apparent raspberries notes and vinous wine character as well. It also seemed to have syrup, strawberries, and floral notes too.

T: the booze is pretty intense on the palate but not as punchy like the nose but does kinda mesh with the raspberries and strawberries. It had vinous wine flavor that reminded me of a wine cooler but much boozier.

M: the wine cooler..ahh I mean beer was light to medium body with zero amount of carbonation which had a sweet fruity and extremely boozy finish.

D: obviously the beer drank pretty poor due to the ABV and was a sipper beer for sure but I'm still glad I had the oppotunity to try the strongest fruit beer on earth.

Long story short, opening night at Birch and Barley, the wait staff was not sure what the different taps were. Someone told me that they had Life and Limb on draft so I ordered it and it turned out to be Fort.

Poured in a modified strange, served on draft at the Birch and Barley/Churchkey opening. White tight head forms quickly with moderate to high carbonation to support it, falls as you drink leaving lacing on the glass. Brown / orange in color, lots of haze, cannot see through this beer.

Aroma is complex and sour. Smells like alcohol, dried fruits, lots of sweetness, some apricots, some raspberries, honey, and citrus. Hard to pick up any specific hop character but its there.

Flavor of the beer is pretty odd. Strong / warming forward sensation. Kind of biting on the back of the tongue, almost has a wine like character to it. Hop bitterness is lost in the sour / sweet tones of the fruit. Really like dried cranberries or some other berries. Drinkability moderate, mouthfeel full.

On tap at brewery. Usually I expect this kind of wallop from an Imperial Stout or a barleywine. This one come from a jar of jelly, at least that's what it smells like. Silky pour, aroma of berries, taste comes on full fruit with associated alcohol burn. Really strong, but tasty. It will just take a while to get through....

The beer pours an amber color with a 1/2" white head that fades to lacing. The aroma is average. It has a very strong alcohol scent that boasts of sour raspberries and not much else. It's not as inviting as a lambic or regular fruit ale. The taste is good. It has a smooth raspberry flavor, but it goes down real slow and warm. This is a beer to be savored not rushed through. I appreciate the concept, but where is the line in the sand. Dogfish Head keep making these high alcohol numbers that are hard to enjoy because they are too damn intense. The original lineup is flavorful and highly drinkable, because the alcohol is kept in check. The mouthfeel is decent. It is a full bodied beer with less than adequate carbonation. This is a cool concept beer, but so are most of my homebrews. The problem is, I'm the only one who enjoys drinking them.

I've had a bottle since I bought one in Arizona back in March. My friend had a going away party earlier tonight, and I thought it would be nice to celebrate with such a unique beer. 750 ml bottle shared with three other people, on to the beer:

This must be what raspberry fruit juice looks like without the added colors. Murky apricot skin color, no head to be found in this one. The aroma is a nice one. Lovely raspberry aroma, like raspberry syrup. Some booze sneaks through the nostrils as well. The taste is where things become love or hate. It tastes like fresh raspberry syrup, and you feel a moderate kick on the palate, but going down it really burns. It tastes like really good raspberries, but...it's extremely boozy. Syrupy in the mouth, but not cloying, with a pinch of fizz.

I knew I would be in for a ride with Fort. The flavor is really nice, though the afterburn is a high price to pay. 7 ounces was enough for me, so make sure this beer is shared. As for experiments....cook with it, mix drinks with it, impress your friends with it....or attempt to drink a magnum of this.

I aged this bottle for a year before drinking it. Seemed to help a good deal- still strong and alcoholic, but not hot and the flavors are somewhat more integrated. Pours a dark amber with little head and no lacing. No brilliant hues of raspberry puree here. Aromas of seedy raspberrys and creamy raspberry puree. A bit of sweet malt and some tannins on the finish- probably from raspberry seeds. Taste is similar, with very deeep raspberry flavors that are also quite tannic and bitter and exhibit rich, complex seedy/stemmy overtones. For me, this works and the resultant tannins balance the alcohol and sweetness from the raspberries. My wife hated it. Mouthfeel is very tannic and although this is definitely a sipper, a friend and I polished off the bottle with enjoyment. Definitely a unique beer and highly interesting.

2015 bottle. I was expecting this to be more fruity. Earthy, not too sweet and subtle raspberry. Kind of tastes like cough syrup. The body is not too thick and the carb makes it drink light, but this doesn't taste good.

Pours orange/red with a white head. Very clear. The aroma is strong on the berries with some alcohol. The flavor is strong raspberry with a lot of hot alcohol. Mouthfeel is medium and very syrupy. Low carbonation. Not a bad beer, but I wish the alcohol was a little more hidden. Interesting but probably not worth the $20 a bottle it sales for here in Dallas.

Pours a golden hue with minimal head on top of an aroma that is slightly sugary and ALL raspberry it seems. A lighter body but still filling thanks to intense carbonation. Raspberry sweetness abounds thanks to the fruit and high yeast notes, but the beer is balanced enough so it's not like drinking straight razz juice or something. Finishes slightly dry and boozy, and I'll admit that I am surprised that the ABV didn't bleed into beer and ruin it.